


honey don't feed me, I will come back

by pyrhhen



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F, Future Fic, I don't know, Kid Fic, Sharing a Bed, lapslock, technically from the future
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:40:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24395896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyrhhen/pseuds/pyrhhen
Summary: “so you’re saying you’re hyun and seulgom’s kid? and you used a weird geeky watch prototype irene unnie was promoting to travel to 2020?”“yep.”joy leans back, “aight. I believe you.”irene splutters, “that’s it? that’s all you needed?”joy shrugs, “it’s 2020. it’s been a shitstorm all year. this might as well happen.”
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kang Seulgi
Comments: 50
Kudos: 156





	1. I hope I catch morefish!

**Author's Note:**

> me - Today at 7:06 am  
> god said 'here. seulrene disease'  
> so here I am  
> on seulrene promo day  
> writing a kidfic  
> how the mighty have fallen

it’s a quiet tuesday when seulgi’s life lands flat on its ass. 

she had been in the living room, playing animal crossing on her switch, k.k. jazz crooning blissfully from the tv. they’d attempted to create a decently sized living room despite the cramped flat, moving around the furniture and relegating some of seulgi’s closet to irene’s room.

(“I, seulgi kang, hereby entrust my least worn clothes to bae joohyun---”

“shut up and help me put these in the closet.”)

she hums, wiggling in her seat as she successfully catches an oarfish (I hope I catch morefish!) when she hears a crash from her room. she sighs.

“kim yerim, that better not have been you snooping through my stuff!”

there’s no response. it’s then she remembers yeri’s out to shoot her reality show.

she resists the urge to pinch her nose, stretching as she stands up. once she’s satisfied with the way her back cracks, she slowly makes her way to her room. had she left her window open again? she really should get rid of that metal rack, it was nothing but trouble.

she reaches the door when she hears a hushed curse, and more shifting.

“ _shit, is this the dorm? this looks like mom’s stuff… god, I hope they’re not ho-”_

that’s definitely not a voice she recognises. her brain goes into fight or flight, kicking the door as she yells, fists up to greet… a kid?

there’s a teenager on her floor, tangled up underneath her metal rack, polaroids strewn across the floor. she’s currently struggling to wriggle out from underneath it, and she freezes at seulgi’s entrance, eyes wide.

“wait! fuck, this is heavy- stop! I’m not a robber!”

“then who the heck are you!”

the kid groans, finally pushing the rack off of herself. she scrambles, pushing herself up against the bed in a semi-upright position.

“would you believe me if I said I was your kid?”

seulgi’s staring blankly at her when irene pads out of her room, rubbing her eyes as she approaches her.

“what are you yelling for? you gave me a frig-” she cuts off at the sight of the kid, yelping. 

“who is that!”

“that’s what I’m trying to figure out!”

“less yelling, more listening!” the girl puts her hands up, giving a “woah, there” gesture, “I’m not a robber, or a sasaeng, or whatever else weird fucks that might get into your dorm.” 

irene just scoffs. seulgi blinks.

“I’m kang sumin. I’m kang seulgi and bae joohyun’s kid from 2045.”

“hah, and I’m the president of korea. I’m calling the manager.” irene turns, already heading towards her room, but something compels seulgi to hold her still.

“wait. look at her face, unnie.”

as sumin blows the hair out of her face, seulgi finally gets a good look, and her world tilts slightly on its axis. it’s a perfect amalgamation of both her and joohyun’s face. she has her eyes and mouth, curving into small crescents as she gives a nervous but toothy smile that seulgi swears she’s seen on many a show broadcast. 

but the rest is all hyun, from her small nose to soft face, hair falling in gentle waves, parted the same way joohyun prefers hers. she’s tall from what she can tell, despite her awkward half-sit, legs stretching out from a thin waist, broadening up into wide shoulders. 

“this must be a prank. some kind of hidden camera.” irene mutters, but seulgi hears the disbelief in her voice, “where’s the camera team, kid?”

the kid has the nerve to look offended, “what kind of producer would joke about two girl group members having a kid? c’mon, ma, be serious.” 

“she has a point,” seulgi murmurs, nudging irene when she gives no response, noticing the odd expression irene has on her face, seeming almost unnerved as she stares at sumin, “hyun?”

“it doesn’t make sense. you’re telling me our _kid,”_ she pauses imperceptibly at ‘our’, “time travelled from 2045 to see her idol parents?”

“pretty much.” the kid stares expectantly at them both, bouncing on the balls of her feet, “are you done freaking out? can I raid your kitchen? I’m starving.”

irene’s progressed from unnerved to constipated, and seulgi just nods, gently steering irene towards the couch, “help yourself. there’s sujebi in the fridge.”

“your sujebi? oh, hell yes!” sumin practically skips out of her room, and both seulgi and irene’s eyes dart downward at the squeaks her shoes make.

“shoes off!” they both demand simultaneously.

sumin stops, sheepish as she shucks them off, “my bad. was outside when I travelled.”

as she darts off to deposit them at the door and raid the fridge, seulgi turns to irene, who still looks like she’d eaten too much chicken, “hey, hyun? you okay?”

her head swivels, eyes looking up to her, almost pleading, “this punk just crashed your room claiming to be your kid and you let her eat your sujebi?”

“I’m scheduling my breakdown for later so we can get you over yours.” seulgi shrugs, cocking her head to the side, “you have to admit, she looks a lot like us.”

irene waves her hand dismissively, “sure. that’s not hard to do with a little bit of makeup and a prayer. but time travel? our country can barely manage to keep a president!”

“they got to space. don’t see why time would be far off.”

“okay, fine. say she time travelled. what does she want with us? we’re not parents! I just turned 30. we’re idols. we don’t have time for, for a **kid**.” irene finally slumps down onto the couch, adrenaline crashing down.

“baby steps, hyun. let her get something to eat, and then we can start asking questions.”

then the door lock beeps, and the door swings open as joy’s voice rings out.

“baby, I’m home!”

irene buries her face in her hands.

* * *

sumin really wishes she’d looked at the user manual before using this thing.

she’s currently at her moms’ old dorm dining table, nibbling at a piece of rice cake as aunt sooyoung stares at her from across the table, unblinkingly. aunt yerim had taken one look at her and beelined towards the pantry (“oh, I need something strong for this”). wendy had just blinked, before hobbling over with her cane, sitting at the table. and aunt sooyoung went for **this.**

“so you’re saying you’re hyun and seulgom’s kid? and you used a weird geeky watch prototype irene unnie was promoting to travel to 2020?”

“yep.”

joy leans back, “aight. I believe you.”

her m- irene splutters, “that’s it? that’s all you needed?”

joy shrugs, “it’s 2020. it’s been a shitstorm all year. this might as well happen.”

_shit._ she stops chewing, “oh. it’s _that_ year. what month am I in? is the virus over yet?” 

“t’s april.” wendy pipes up, “at least we know the virus ends within the year.”

“in korea, at least.” sumin mutters under her breath.

“don’t talk when you’re chewing. I can’t believe you’re all so calm about this.” irene whines from beside wendy, leaning against the canadian as she pats her knee.

yeri scoffs, “I think seulgi and joohyun unnie having a lovechild is one of the less surprising things I’ve found out this week.”

both seulgi and irene look away at that, blushes creeping up their necks. they definitely wouldn’t be this shy if they were together. which means sumin overshot. _way_ overshot.

**_shit._ **

“aaaanyway,” she drawls, bringing their gazes back to her, “is there anywhere I can stay while this gizmo stops fritzing, or…?”

seulgi shakes her head, “it’s a really small dorm. you see my clothes out in the hallway."

“where the hell are we going to hide her? we barely have any space for ourselves.” wendy waves an arm around their surroundings, as if to emphasise her point.

“obviously it should be with irene,” joy scoffs, “you have the biggest room, and she’s your-” her face scrunches up then, like the word is a particularly nasty chicken bone stuck in her throat.

“ _kid._ I’m her kid. 1, I’m still here, and 2, you won’t explode if you acknowledge my existence,” the teenager huffs, crossing her arms. 

“who knows, punk. you’re doing all sorts of fucked up shit to the space time continuum right now.” joy glowers at the stares she gets, “what? I read.”

“how about, instead of subjecting unnie to sleeping with someone she’s never met, we put the kid in seulgi’s room and seulgi unnie can sleep with joohyun unnie.” yeri retorts, “that way everyone’s comfortable.” 

“uhm, I never agreed to that.” seulgi blinks rapidly, eyes wide. 

“please, we all know whose bed unnie would crawl into when there were thunderstorms. think of it as punishment for having a kid when everyone knows we’re at the beginning of the end.” yeri waves her off, “go show her to her room. us grownups will figure out how to hide her.”

seulgi splutters for a bit before acquiescing, standing up and motioning sumin over.

_oh, thank god._

she practically jumps out of her seat, scuttering over to seulgi’s side. she gives a small, jerky bow to the rest, then follows seulgi to her room.

“you’re gonna have to clean up the mess you made. I’ll get rid of the rack, though. if you’re anything like me, you’ll knock it over once a day.” seulgi throws a grin over her shoulder, and suddenly, sumin really misses her mom.

“uhm, yeah. that’s probably good.”

the dancer steps gingerly over the mess on the floor, sliding her closet open. sumin darts down, sweeping the polaroids into a pile. quite a few are with family and friends, a few of which sumin recognises as overbearing aunts or loud uncles. the rest are with her members, and sumin notes the prevalence of irene.

(maybe she didn’t overshoot too much, then)

“I’m guessing time travel doesn’t come with a suitcase, so I’ll give you a couple of my things. you’re a little taller than me, so some of these might be a tight fit. you might have to ask joy for some clothes.” she’s already laid a small pile on the bed, and sumin hums her approval at her choices.

“those look awesome mom, don’t worry about it.”

seulgi freezes then, hand resting against a coat hanger. sumin swears inwardly.

“I mean. seulgi. unnie? aunt? ahjumma? I’m not used to this.”

“no, mom’s… fine. just not used to it. unnie doesn’t sound right, and I’m definitely not an ahjumma.” she finally turns, a small smile gracing her features, “you might not be born yet, but that doesn’t mean I’m not your mom, right?”

her eyes prick at that, and she looks heavenward, tamping down the hot tears that threaten to swell up, “don’t say emo shit like that.”

“language.” her mom taps a finger to her mouth, and sumin knows then.

she’s getting her moms back. she has to.


	2. life should be more than just surviving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the adults figure it out. irene talks to sumin properly for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> look at me, doubling the word count. hoping that isn't a regular occurrence.

“alright,” yeri sits perched on the back of the couch, tapping her chin, “what are we doing with the walking pr nightmare?”

wendy looks up from her phone, “well, she looks… 16? 17? she needs school.”

“ah, yes, of course education is your primary concern,” yeri drawls, “well, ms 3.93 gpa, why not tutor her while she’s here? it’s not like we can let her leave the house.”

“why not? just throw a cap and mask on her. everyone will think she’s seulgi.” joy retorts, typing furiously on her phone.

irene shakes her head, “it’s too risky. especially with our unit debut coming up soon. the paps will be hounding us for a while.”

joy leans back, “gotta admit, your kid has impeccable timing. just as your debut’s gaining steam, she comes in like _that_.” she snaps her fingers, “impressive.”

the leader just pinches her nose, exhaling, “she’ll have to stay in seulgi’s room for the time being. wendy, is it too much to ask you to help her with schoolwork for a while?”

the canadian smiles, “don’t worry about it. I’m sure I still have my notes online somewhere.”

irene ignores joy’s snort, “we’ll take turns keeping an eye on her. I know most of us are busy with schedules, but I don’t feel good about having her here alone.”

“still, she’s a growing kid. and from what I saw, she’s definitely not going to stay put.” yeri points out, “it might be better to bring her with you to the practice rooms every once in a while. no one will bother you, and if someone asks, just say she’s a new trainee or something.”

irene stays quiet at that, brows furrowing as she contemplates. she looks up at the sound of a door closing, as seulgi lets go of the handle gently, blinking at the sudden attention.

“she’s settled in. I gave her some of my clothes, but she might need a few from you too, sooyoung.” joy waves her away at that, acquiescing.

“yeah, yeah. thank god she got your genes; imagine inheriting unnie’s short legs. the kid would never get anywhere.”

“park sooyoung. wanna die?”

“nah, you couldn’t reach my neck.” 

“you little-” 

“anyway.” seulgi cuts in, eyes curving up as she smiles at their antics, “what were you guys talking about?”

yeri counts down on her fingers, “1. she’s staying in your room. 2. wendy’s tutoring her. 3. we’re taking turns babysitting her. 4. we’re debating on whether or not she’s allowed to leave the dorm.”

“oh.” seulgi sits next to irene, knees brushing. irene jumps a little, pretending not to notice the cursory glance the dancer gives her, “well. our unit hasn’t debuted yet, so there won’t be lots of media attention on us. I think it’s okay if we bring her to sm or cafés, as long as we use the car.”

joy smacks the table, startling everyone. irene’s hands automatically go up, one to her ears, another to seulgi’s shoulder. it’s instinctual, but she’s not sure why the warmth beneath her hand feels like it’s burning her, travelling up her hand to her face. she takes it back after a moment, clasping her hands together in her lap.

“it’s settled then! we can shuttle her around like she’s a secret idol boyfriend we haven’t told management about. I’m gonna go wash up.” joy stands up, beelining to the bathroom as yeri complains.

“come on, I was gonna use it!”

“the early bird catches the worm!”

irene’s throat clears, and she finds her voice, “it’s okay, yerim. go wash up in my room.” 

yeri throws a grateful glance at her, making a show of dragging herself off the couch before bouncing to the master bedroom. wendy follows soon after, giving irene a meaningful stare _(‘I’ll let you two talk’)_ and seulgi a kind smile before retiring to her room.

the living room falls into a loud silence as the final door clicks shut. irene feels the overwhelming urge to fidget, the warm press of their thighs being the only thing she could focus on right now. 

and it’s not that she feels uncomfortable with seulgi. it really isn’t. the past few months have meant that they’ve been stuck at the hip as they went from meeting room to meeting room, irene alternating between pretending to listen to whatever capitalist drivel the directors were peddling and watching seulgi stare attentively, hanging on their every word. 

and she probably should listen because. 10 years. it’s been 10 years of sweat and tears and slamming the repeat button on her phone as she pulled herself up, saying “again” to herself, getting into position. 10 years of smiling and pretending and giving away pieces of herself to executives, producers, and fans. and it’s finally culminated into what she’s wanted since she stepped into the sm practice room in the fall of 2009.

_the boardroom falls into silence as the last producer leaves the room, waving from behind the trademark glass walls of sm entertainment. it feels like a silent warning, a quiet, persistent whisper that follows them wherever they go._

_you’re being watched. you can’t hide. give us your biggest smile._

_she lets out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding when seulgi turns to her, eyes curving as she gives her a toothy grin._

_“so, a subunit, huh? what a boring way of telling us our dreams have come true.”_

_she can’t help but laugh at that, “yeah. classic sm.”_

_seulgi’s face drops into an uncharacteristically grim face, putting her hands onto the desk, clasped tightly, “ma’ams, we regret to inform you that… you’re going to have the time of your lives. you get to sing. together.”_

_she plays along, “oh no. how tragic.”_

_seulgi nods gravely, “I know.”_

_they hold it for a couple seconds longer before devolving into giggles, the sound reverberating around the boardroom. irene gazes fondly at seulgi snuffling, that adorable snort-like laugh that only comes out when she’s ridiculously happy. it takes a while for them to calm down, seulgi wiping at her eyes before she sighs contently, looking up at irene._

_“let’s try our very best, unnie. for our younger selves.”_

_her breath catches a little at that, and she wills herself to give a small smile, “for our younger selves.”_

so it’s not that she’s uncomfortable with seulgi. but half her focus is stuck on what lies beyond seulgi’s room. the implications of a full-grown teenage child that she and seulgi chose to have leaves a knot in her stomach, insistent and tugging. it means… it means-

“hey.” she just about jumps half a foot off the couch, and very quickly regrets it as she gets a look at seulgi’s face. it’s just as kind and gentle as it always is, but there’s a disquiet - maybe anxiety? hurt? that she can’t quite hide in her eyes.

she attempts to recover, slapping the dancer lightly on the shoulder, “you scared me.” she admonishes her, pouting exaggeratedly. 

that helps a little, her eyes brighter as she scratches the back of her neck, sheepish, “sorry. you seemed really deep in thought.”

“you know. just thinking about… things.” she falls two steps short of dismissive, voice coming out as pensive instead. 

seulgi hums, and it’s quiet for another couple moments. irene finds herself toying with the fabric of her shirt, rubbing the cotton rhythmically. back and forth, back and forth.

“so. a kid, huh?” seulgi flashes a lopsided grin, the one she likes to give when she’s referencing an inside joke, “that’s not something you find out everyday.”

“dispatch would go crazy.” irene offers, her smile a weak tug on her lips.

seulgi stares at her, worrying at her bottom lip, and irene resists the urge to reach out, curling up her fists in her lap. the dancer finally sighs, ruffling her hair in frustration.

“look. neither of us expected this to be how our day went. I just want to check in. do you want to talk about it?” she prods, gentle, “are you uncomfortable sharing your room with me? I can ask wendy if she’s okay with sharing.”

“no!” she bursts out, as surprised as seulgi looks. she lowers her voice to a near-whisper, “no, I’m okay with sharing. besides, wendy needs to focus on recovering. I already feel bad asking her to tutor sumin.” saying her name reminds her of the weight of what they’re talking about. their kid. 

“and I don’t know if I can talk about… _it,_ yet. I don’t think I’ve processed what’s happening, yet.” it’s not untrue.

the curve of seulgi’s lips turn wry, “you’re telling me. I haven’t had my scheduled breakdown yet,” she teases, but her eyes quickly turns serious again, “we _do_ have to talk about it though. eventually.”

“do we _have_ to?” it comes out as a pitiful whine, and seulgi just shakes her head fondly.

“yes, hyun, we do. anyway,” her eyes turn towards her door, which has been suspiciously quiet for a while now, “one of us should go check on her. see how she’s holding up.”

irene exhales shakily. she’s not sure she can face the subject of her panic, but she knows she has to face her sooner or later.

“don’t worry about it. go rest, I’ll check up on her.” 

seulgi eyes her, worry evident on her face, “you sure? I can do it.”

“hey, kkangseul, which one of us had to raise yerim? I can deal with one teenager.” she crosses her arms, glaring playfully. 

“fair enough. I can already see her getting spoiled by you.”

she turns her nose up at that, “who said anything about spoiling? I’m a tiger mom.”

“sure, hyun.” seulgi pauses, brows furrowing ever so slightly before she clears her throat slightly, “hey, hyun?”

“hmm?”

the brunette blinks twice, nervously, “hug?”

oh, seulgi. she grins, the tug in her stomach finally relenting.

“of course, bear.”

* * *

sumin throws herself onto the bed, landing with a small “oof” as she bounces against the surface. she’d gotten bored of organising the clothes her mom gave her, examining them till she was sure they were satisfactory. not that she doubted her mom, of course. she’d always admired the ease with which she put outfits together; simple and chic one day, flashy and model-esque the next.

she grabs the iPad next to her head, opening instagram and scrolling through both her moms’ pages. she has a rough idea of their timeline, but it wouldn’t hurt to get a better read on where exactly she’d managed to end up.

she can’t help but laugh at her ma’s posts, ecletic and kid-like in their randomness, from long shadows to nostrils to cheesy videos. she could be the ‘bad cop’ of the pair, strict but fair when it came to doling out punishments or critique. but she was also the first to be silly, cracking jokes or throwing small pranks, even after day-long schedules and sunken, makeup-free eyes. 

her mom’s posts are more fashion-focused, dotted with sponsored posts as well as daily fits, garnering up to more than a million likes for her clean looks and natural poses. contrasting to what a lot of her friends thought, seulgi tended to be the more serious of the two, gentle but firm when reminding sumin that she should strive for perfection, or at the very least her best. she was never aggressive, but her “I’m not angry, I’m disappointed” tactic worked wonders. 

she doesn’t really know when her moms got together, only that it was around the time their subunit, ‘Irene&Seulgi’, had debuted. she’d originally hoped to land sometime after their debut, maybe when promotions were over, but a large part of her is glad she’d landed where she had. perhaps seeing them pre-relationship; how they acted around each other, what others thought of them, might help in her quest. 

her eyes drifted towards the pile of polaroids on the table. her mom had a penchant for taking photos, adamant that they were the only way to capture memories. her own bedroom wall is filled with polaroids, and she makes sure to look at it often, so that she doesn’t forget those cherished moments.

she stands, wandering over to the pile. she starts to sort them into smaller piles: with friends, with members, and with irene. the irene pile was on par with the friends pile - her first hint. the second most featured member was wendy.

now, she knows aunt wendy was her mom’s best friend. but she’d always wondered if anything had ever happened between them, and a long, long time ago, when she had more thoughts than sense, she’d asked them outright. all she got was a beet-red seulgi, a scandalised irene, and aunt wendy laughing, shaking her head fondly as she ruffled sumin’s hair.

maybe she’d investigate that. she puts the thought away, pushing the other two piles to the side, then spreading her moms’ polaroids out. some are clearly older, taking on that semi-overexposed hue that came with time. she can see the brightness that came with youth, irene’s cheek pressed against seulgi’s shoulder as they smiled for the camera. another is a mirror selfie, clearly in the practice room, both of them hanging at odd angles from black chairs, waving at the mirror. 

but the most important one seems more recent. it’s at a pier or riverside somewhere, both of their hair dark (maybe during psycho? she doesn’t really keep track of their hair colours, to be honest). what strikes her is their poses and expressions. irene is known to be clingy, sure, but she was big on boundaries. she knew seulgi had mostly gotten used to it over the decades, but there were still instances where touch made her uncomfortable.

they’re sat on a bench, irene draped on top of seulgi like a cat. she cuddles into her side, eyes and face scrunched up contently. what makes her breath catch in her throat is the way seulgi looks down at her. it’s fond, yes, but there’s a comfort and warmth there that sumin has only ever seen her mom direct towards her and her ma. like she would be willing to do anything for her.

_(“you know,” her ma blurts out as they sit on the couch, watching a rerun of some show her ma liked, “your mom’s slow, but she’s not stupid.”_

_sumin turns to her, head tilted, “aren’t those the same thing?”_

_irene just tuts, still watching the screen, “don’t be so mean to your mom. as I was saying. your mom might take a while to put the pieces together, but you’ll know the moment she realises.”_

_“how?”_

_“kang sumin! come here right now!”_

_her ma finally turns to her, eyes sparkling, “like that.”)_

she’s so lost in her thoughts she almost misses the soft knock at the door. she takes the polaroid and shoves it in her pants, pushing the rest back into the pile. she leans against the desk, clearing her throat.

“yes?”

the door opens marginally, and she sees irene’s face poke out, eyes wide.

“can I come in?” she almost needs to strain to hear her speak. 

“of course!” sumin backs away from the desk, walking backwards till the back of her legs hits the bed, and she plops down.

the door widens then, and irene slips inside, closing the door shut against her. she stays pressed against the door, like she’s intent on keeping as much distance between them as possible. sumin sighs inwardly. she forgets how shy her ma can get with strangers.

“I don’t bite, y’know?” she tosses out, sporting the cheekiest grin she can muster.

irene softens a bit at that, posture slacking a little, “I never said you did.”

“you look like a rabbit that’s about to be eaten by a wolf.”

her brows furrow, and her lower lip juts out at that, “are you always like this?”

“depends on what you mean by _this_.”

“mean. and snarky.”

“aww, did I hurt your feelings? I’m sorry.” she bows mockingly.

irene sighs through her nose, finally approaching. she sits on the other side of the bed, leaving a meter’s distance between them, “if it weren’t for your face, I’d say you were sooyoung and yerim’s kid.”

“they did babysit me pretty often. maybe that’s why.”

“note: ask wendy to babysit you more, sooyoung and yerim less.”

she rolls her eyes at that, “I doubt that’ll help, but alright.”

irene stares at her reproachfully, “I came to check if you were okay, and since you’re throwing quips like no one’s business, I think you’re fine.”

she starts to get up, but sumin stretches over, hand covering irene’s.

“wait, wait. I’m sorry. I get like this when I’m nervous.”

irene (joohyun? ma?) stares down at their hands, face unreadable, “this is you nervous?”

she lets out a nervous chuckle, tempted to pull away as she feels her hands start to sweat, “fake it till you make it, right?”

“uh huh.” she stares a little longer, then pulls away her hand. sumin keeps her hand there, staring as she can’t help feel she’s failed some kind of test.

“look, kid. I don’t know what seulgi told you, but. we’re not your parents. we’re just young adults who are, one day, going to become your parents.” irene clasps her hands in her lap; her tell for when she wants to fidget, “I just want to make sure you understand you can’t come in here and expect us to be anything like them.”

sumin just nods jerkily, throat closing up, “not my parents.” she croaks, “got it.”

irene looks up, alarm clouding her features. she scoots closer, pushing sumin’s hand to her side.

“hey, no, that’s not what I meant,” she coos, eyes soft with worry, “what I mean is that…” her hand reaches up, hovering beside sumin’s head. she pretends not to notice when it closes up into a fist, dropping to her side.

irene sighs, “what I mean is… we’re not going to be as good as your parents are with you. your mom and I aren’t together.” her tongue stumbles over ‘together’, and sumin watches the leader’s face close up marginally, a crinkle forming between her brows, “I just want to warn you that what you expect won’t be what you get.”

_fuck it._

“you do want to be together, though. don’t you?” 

irene’s eyes go cold, the warmth seeping out of her expression immediately.

“that’s not important.” her voice pitches down, final in its warning.

sumin scoffs, “what is, then? I’m living proof that you do.”

irene’s head tilts, and sumin gulps. it’s calculating, deliberate. it’s the expression she sees when her ma analyses someone, looks into their soul, and eviscerates them.

“there are different timelines, aren’t there? maybe this is one where we don’t.” her tone is feather-light, deceptive in its carelessness, “maybe you have to come in every timeline to make sure we get together. and this is the one where you fail. that is what you came here to do, isn’t it?”

sumin can only stare, stomach sinking at the blankness of the face before her. irene smooths down her pants, getting up daintily. she turns, eyes flat.

“don’t presume that just because you know some future version of me, that you know me. every waking second I spend is with a mask, tailored for the person in front of me. and if you think that it’s true, you’re a fool. the thing I hate the most is when people assume.”

sumin finds her voice, somehow, “that’s a lonely way to live.”

irene pauses, façade breaking slightly, “maybe. but it’s one way to survive.”

“someone told me life should be more than just surviving.”

irene’s head tilts again, but this time, it’s more thoughtful as she watches sumin, “who told you that?”

“you.”

irene pauses… then nods, chuckling softly under her breath.

“goodnight, sumin.”

she’s reached the door when sumin speaks up again.

“irene?”

she stops, but doesn’t turn.

sumin’s nails dig into her skin as she clenches her fists, taking a deep breath before continuing.

“I’m going to try and get to know _you_. masks and all.”

irene leaves without replying. but as the door closes, sumin sees the hint of a smile before the door clicks. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what are consistent vibes? is this a crackfic or an angstfic? your guess is as good as mine.
> 
> kudos and comments are always welcome.
> 
> please dedicate any time and effort you can into the blm movement. just because the media doesn't cover it doesn't mean it's over.


	3. that’ll do donkey, that’ll do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> irene organizes kitchenware. seulgi is ‘mom’ for a reason. they eat vietnamese. and there’s only one bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the space time continuum is a travelling circus and I am but a clown desperately trying to not trip over my clown shoes
> 
> if you notice the name change... you do not. we ignore my brief witcher phase like my braincells ignored writing.

needless to say, the house is silent for a while after that. irene putters about the kitchen, mindlessly organizing and reorganizing their kitchen shelves, studiously avoiding even looking in the direction of her bedroom door, where seulgi resides. 

of course, they’ve shared a bed before. she remembers their trainee days, when they were both exhausted from hours of dance practice. seulgi would look at the clock - always past midnight - then turn back to her, puppy eyes in full effect.

they’d wriggle into that tiny twin bed, seulgi curling up towards her, eyes bright as she’d whisper excitedly about sleepovers and the dorm and ‘this is so cool unnie, I can’t wait till we live together!”. 

then their group is finally finalized and the others move in, seulgi’s eyes wide as she lugs her suitcase behind her despite having visited numerous times. it’s just their luck that there’s a thunderstorm that night and irene commemorates seulgi’s first official night there with her, seulgi’s gaze exasperatedly fond as she opens up the blanket with a dramatic snap, cooing as irene sheepishly slid in. 

but it’s been years since, and irene is the leader now. no matter how loud the lightning snaps and the thunder crackles, she’d flinch alone from under the blanket, hands clamped over her ears as she tried to go to sleep. 

so to have seulgi be volunteered back into her room, back to sprawling across the bed, _her_ bed, one arm suspended over the edge, the other under irene’s body, her warmth and scent lingering on her sheets? she was going to avoid that for as long as possible, thank you very much.

and now, sumin. 

the teenager is everything and nothing like she’d imagine her kid to be. because yes, when she’s bored and lonely and tired enough, she’s imagined kids with her features; soft, rounded eyes and big ears, smiling toothily. she’s never gotten as far as them being teenagers, but she doesn’t have to now with living, breathing proof meters away from her. 

she’s fiery in a way irene hadn’t expected - whipsnap smart and snarky, completely unlike she herself had been in her youth. her long, still gangly limbs belied a grace that irene has seen beside her in the practice room for a decade. her entire being emanated a self-assurance that screamed of love and care growing up. even as irene had ripped into her, no doubt striking a nerve or ten, sumin had remained resolute, meeting her gaze till she’d closed the door, eyes defiant despite the faint shimmer of unshed tears - like she knew something irene didn’t. 

and maybe that’s why staring at her from up close in seulgi’s room had been one of the most terrifying moments she’d ever experienced. to have seulgi’s eyes curve into crescents from what was undoubtedly a face shaped like her own? a brow that jumped up ever so slightly when irene had sat down, like she’d seen in countless gifs of herself on the internet? and the hand that had covered hers as she’d moved away, warm and all-encompassing in a way that was all too familiar. to know that she _did_ know something - something irene was too scared to face.

maybe it’s that combination of fear and familiarity, this manifestation of the uncanny valley that was her being happy with seulgi anyone that causes her to lash out, cold and biting. it wasn’t hard to guess why a young child would want to return to her younger parents given the opportunity. even as she spoke, she’d felt a stab of guilt at the look in sumin’s eyes, but pressed on. cruel or not, there was too much at stake, and the teen had to understand that.

she’s halfway through reorganizing their cutlery by size when a hand lands on her shoulder and she jumps, hand already raising to slap whoever it was. she stops when she turns to see seulgi, who’s smiling gently despite irene’s suspended hand. 

“hi. why’re you abusing our kitchen?” 

“I’m not abusing it, I’m just-” she pauses at seulgi’s reproachful look. her hand falls and she says lamely, “I’m… cleaning.” 

“I see.” seulgi surveys the kitchen, and irene follows her gaze to the numerous stacks of plates, pots, and pans she’s rearranged across their counters. she can feel her cheeks warm as seulgi looks back to her, lips quirked in a teasing smile.

“well, we can’t ruin your masterpiece. wanna order takeout?” 

“uhm… sure. isn’t it a bit early- oh.” she checks her phone to see ‘19:47’ staring up at her, “oh no. you guys must be so hungry! I’m sorry, I wasn’t keeping track of time-”

seulgi gives an easy smile, patting her shoulder, “it’s fine, unnie. I was craving vietnamese anyway. want to ask the girls what they want? I’ll go ask sumin.”

“right. yeah. I’ll do that.” 

seulgi’s brows furrow minisculely, catching onto her hesitance. “unnie? you okay?”

“yeah. just a little distracted.” 

“clearly.” seulgi keeps watching her, her thoughtful gaze heavy on irene’s reddening face. irene turns to return everything back to their original place, avoiding seulgi’s eyes.

“how’s sumin? did you talk to her?” 

“mmhmm.”

“...and?”

“she’s fine. settling in.”

there’s a pause. then seulgi slides into view, blocking irene from reaching the plates behind her on the corner counter. seulgi leans sideways, propping her arm on the counter as she meets her eyes at eye-level, lips turned in a disappointed frown. 

“unnie. what did you do?”

“what makes you think I did anything?” irene avoids her gaze, reaching around her. seulgi raises a hand, gently pushing her back.

“because you’re not meeting my eyes. and your forehead scrunch.” she extends a finger, poking in between her brows. 

“hey.” seulgi pretends to wince at her light slap on her arm, “I have no forehead scrunch.”

“yeah, you do. and you’re avoiding the question. what did you do?”

“I just talked to her.”

“about?”

“you know.” she waves a hand aimlessly, “stuff. us. house rules.”

seulgi’s eyes narrow at that, and she stands to her full height. “unnie. you didn’t.”

“didn’t what?”

“you scared her, didn’t you? gave her the bae joohyun talk.” 

“I don’t have a bae joohyun talk, what are you on about? move.” she takes a step half-heartedly, but seulgi stays standing.

“unnie. you didn’t seriously try to intimidate a 16 year old, right? tell me you didn’t.”

irene sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, “she overstepped.”

“of course she did! she’s 16!”

“that doesn’t excuse anything! even children know about boundaries.” 

seulgi sighs, and irene swallows at the irritated furrow of her brow, “joohyun unnie. even if she rationally knows we aren’t her parents, she still sees you as her mother. don’t you think we would be open about things with her?”

_we. her parents._ the words ring in her ears, and she shakes them away. 

“still…” it sounds whiny, even to her. she clears her throat, straightening her back, “still, we aren’t. I reminded her of that. that’s all.”

seulgi’s exasperated stare stabs her with guilt, twisting in her stomach. then a door creaks, and their eyes follow the sound, towards the hallway, where seulgi’s door lies half open. sumin almost shrinks at the attention, body still half-hidden behind the door. the knife twists deeper when irene sees her expression, eyes wide and sorrowful, shoulders hunched in.

“please don’t fight.” her voice is a fraction of the loud, boisterous one she’d heard just hours earlier, “not over me.” 

irene feels seulgi’s gaze flit over to her, but she feels rooted in place, unable to move. a second passes, then seulgi starts walking over towards her, cooing.

“hey, don’t worry! your ma and I were just fighting over takeout menus. how does vietnamese sound?” she ushers sumin into the room, closing the door behind them - but not before giving irene a meaningful stare, mouthing “apologize” before shutting the door with a final click. 

irene slumps onto the counter next to her, head falling back as she looks skyward.

“fuck.”

* * *

it’s almost an hour later before she sees either of them. she sits at the dining table, phone sitting in front of her as she waits for their delivery alone. she’d texted her members for their orders, and still feels the sting of seulgi’s curt, emoji-less answer and wendy’s ‘need to talk?’.

the delivery finally arrives at 20:42, and they all mill out at the smell of phở bò and bánh xèo, congregating around the table. sooyoung and yerim take their usual places next to each other, bickering over the sauces. wendy acquiesces her spot next to seulgi, taking an end of the table. as seulgi and sumin take another side, irene eyes her end of the table, carefully maneouvering into her seat. sumin gives her a half-hearted grin from her left, and irene can feel seulgi’s warning gaze warming her cheek.

“eat up. you’re still growing.” she slides a pair of chopsticks over as smoothly as she can, avoiding seulgi’s eyes. she looks up to meet sumin’s, and gives her the best smile she can, given the circumstances, “need to grow taller than sooyoung, right?”

ignoring joy’s indignant, “hey!”, irene watches for sumin’s response. she seems to take the olive branch happily, eyes curving up into crescent moons as she grins. 

“yes, ma’am!” she gives her a little salute, putting on a show of rolling her shoulders back and rolling up her sleeves. 

irene glances at seulgi, who’s watching sumin dig voraciously into her bowl with a fond smile. seulgi feels her stare and looks up, quirking an eyebrow. at irene’s expectant expression, she gives a small shake. _you didn’t apologize._

she sighs through her nostrils, hands itching in her lap. she closes her eyes for a pause, then opens them, catching sumin’s ever-moving hand with hers. sumin startles, flinching identically to the many videos she’s seen sooyoung and yerim laugh at over their shoulders. she pushes past it, voice pitching low.

“and… I’m sorry about what I said. I was too harsh.”

sumin gives a lopsided grin at that, “it’s okay, ma’am. it was rude of me to presume.” 

_ma’am, huh?_ her heart sinks a bit at that, but she clears her throat and asks, “no hard feelings?”

sumin nods, “no hard feelings.”

she goes right back to inhaling her phở, and when irene looks up again, seulgi nods approvingly.

“that’ll do, donkey”, she mouths, “that’ll do.”

irene throws a peanut at her.

* * *

they all retire quickly after dinner, as the excitement of the day seems to finally catch up on sumin. the teen’s yawns grow more and more frequent with each box of takeout stacked and thrown away. wendy ushers her into the bathroom with a toothbrush and cup, ignoring the maknaes’ protests and their early calltimes, citing ‘the kid travelled through time! you can stay prisoner to time’s linear flow for 5 more minutes!”. 

irene takes her sweet time sorting through the food waste, cleaning out the styrofoam packets before placing them in their assorted bin. she’s tied up the food waste and replaced the plastic bags when sumin waddles up to her, swimming in one of seulgi’s oversized hoodies. she bows, gravely pronouncing her “good night, ma’am” like irene might to her grandparents, before trudging into seulgi’s room for the night. 

irene delays the inevitable for maybe 10 more minutes, washing used cutlery and wiping the table down till it was sparkling. she flicks the lights off and finally pads towards her room. she knocks lightly, pausing for the “come in, unnie!” before opening the door.

seulgi sits cross-legged on the right of the bed, scrolling through her phone. she looks up, face still glowing from moisturising cream, hair up in her typical bun. her tie-dye shirt hangs loosely over her frame, a sliver of collarbone jutting out from underneath. irene looks quickly away from that.

“hi.” seulgi raises her hand in greeting, invoking that stupid bear image of hers. 

“hi.” she murmurs, shutting the door behind her.

“I put my toothbrush and stuff in your bathroom, by the way.” seulgi gestures over to the en suite, “hope you don’t mind?”

the image of two matching toothbrushes in a cup flashes in her head, and she shakes it away, voice slightly strained “yeah, of course.”

seulgi just nods, looking back down at what looks to be tomorrow’s schedule. irene takes the out, ducking into the en suite to wash up. seulgi was kind enough to her heart to have a separate cup and toothbrush, yet it still twinges in slight disappointment as she picks up her own to brush her teeth. 

she runs through her nighttime routine relatively quickly, on autopilot as she runs through the motions. before she knows it, she’s finished the last touches of her skin routine, and there’s nowhere else to run. 

“getting in?” 

she turns to seulgi’s expectant gaze, still sitting up but with her legs underneath the covers. 

irene nods, grateful that she had been the first to break the semi-awkward silence. she slips into her side of the bed, settling underneath the covers in one smooth motion. she stares up at the ceiling, silent as she hears the rustles of seulgi sliding down next to her. 

the bed is big enough that there’s a sizable gap between them, wide and gaping like a canyon. it’s strange to feel the dip in the mattress beside her; the weight and tangible warmth of another person’s body present. it almost reminds her of a swimming pool; every rustle and turn ripples like water, reaching the other person. 

minutes of agonising silence goes by before there’s an extended rustling as seulgi turns towards her. irene freezes, breath stopping as she waits. 

“joohyun unnie.”

she exhales, throat scratchy, “yeah?”

“c’mon, look at me.”

she takes a deep breath and turns on her side, looking over to see seulgi’s eyes glinting in the dark, steady and unreadable.

“how’re you feeling?”

she feels the sudden urge to cry, biting her lip in an effort to suppress the emotions welling up from inside her. she hums, stalling for time as she gathers herself.

“I should probably have asked you that first, huh? I’m sorry.”

“none of that.” seulgi inches closer, placing a hand deliberately between them, just within reach. she asks again. 

“how’re you feeling?”

“awful. thanks for asking.” 

“anytime.” seulgi’s tone is light, like they had finished a conversation about the weather. her eyes remain open, focused and watching almost expectantly.

so irene goes next. “how about you?”

“going through a mild quarter life crisis.” comes the chipper reply.

“you’re a lot better at it than I am.” irene admits to seulgi’s forehead, “I don’t know how you’re handling this so well.” 

“I’m not. I’m in my mind palace, screaming.”

“right. you do mindfulness. like a crazy person.”

even in the dark, she can recognise seulgi’s reproachful stare, “it’s the inflexible person’s yoga, unnie.”

“either way… how’re you so good with her?”

seulgi sighs, the puff of air reaching irene’s face “she’s not a stranger, unnie. she’s a young, impressionable, lost teenager surrounded by mortifyingly unprepared, irresponsible adults. context aside, there’s no reason to mistrust her or intentions. something tells me that what you see is what you get.” 

irene stares, mouth slightly agape. then: 

“when did you become so wise, seulgi?” 

she smirks, “my name is literally ‘wise’. I’m the embodiment of wisdom.”

there’s a slap, and an “ow! it’s literally the truth!” 

“maybe your parents should have named you humble instead.”

“‘irene, goddess of peace’, my ass.” 

“come over here right now-“ 

“you’ll never take me alive!”

joy sighs from next door, slipping airpods on as she lays in bed, the buds chirping as noise cancelling switches on.

“suddenly, I’m homophobic.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the angst and crack was like the 50 chips and the one ping pong ball serving of guac that chipotle shoves in your uber eats bag... but I spent my last day of half term on this so I hope you’ll still enjoy?
> 
> I also made a twitter for y’all so if you’d like to say hi or give your uber eats order a review, come on over to @pyrhhen

**Author's Note:**

> I genuinely don't know. Find out with me?
> 
> crossposted on aff because. I just remember that exists


End file.
